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Resting in the quiet area of the harbor on the other side of the tracks, is a small hideout known as Dock 13, but unknown to World City police. There, lots of crooked deals go down as stolen items are bartered in exchange for stolen loot and other World City treasures. One of the more popular crooks in World City, a man they call Captain Nemo, has made this place his hideout with his slow dim-witted thug, Bennie. They've managed to steal a police hovercraft that they've repainted with custom detailing. What's next on their agenda to steal? Gems, Money, Lego? You decide, in this review of 7045 Hovercraft Hideout.

7045 Hovercraft Hideout is one of my most favorite sets of the World City Collection (not including the train sets). It includes a Hovercraft, Hideout, Jet Ski, and two Minifigs.

Action packed boxart starts the review:

Front of Box

Back of Box

Some images of the instructions:

Front

Alternate Models

A neat feature of these instructions is a collection of images of other World City sets with artwork that looks like a newspaper:

The set includes just a few decals:

I love the minifigs. I think the Captain looks like James Mason's character of Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea:

Three gems and two $100 bills are included as accessories:

Here's a shot of the jet ski:

And the hovercraft:

The front section has a smoked grey windshield piece that lifts open:

Where Captain Nemo pilots the vessel:

Side view:

Both sides have a small box to hide stolen money and gems:

Here's a shot of the back:

The neat feature of the hovercraft is that the jet ski can be placed in the middle section. This causes the rubberband to tighten. When the grey piece is pushed, the jet ski pops out of the rear section:

The two engines are connected by a single black rod. Moving one causes the other to move:

Here's the bottom section. It has three wheels with the front wheel being able to turn 360 degress. This makes pushing it fun:

My favorite part of this set is the hideout:

Check out the front side. The train door slides to the right. The little rat and fuel tank adds some nice detail to the set:

But the neat part is placing the jet ski inside:

Just like the hovercraft, pushing it in causes the rubberband to stretch, and the chimney piece lifts up. Pushing the chimney causes the jet ski to fly out!

Here's ashot of the other side:

And lastly, the complete set:

Final Thoughts:

Hovercraft Hideout was one of those sets that could easily be found on sale after the stores could not sell them for full price. I think I picked mine up for either $15 or $20 (USD). I've used this little hideout in a number of cities and it always makes a great place to hide the stolen loot. Here's a shot of it as part of the set for Mystery Ship:

I also like to combine this set with 4856 Doc Ock's Hideout as part of pier or harbor scenes. I love the two figs, esp. Captain Nemo. Overall, the set is packed with lots of fun and the hideout makes a great addition to any city or town.

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I bought this set in '06, I think, and haven't regretted it. I personally think it's one of the better sets, when I factor in play, design, combinations (with other themes) etc. The two crooks in this set are also unique to this set as well, breaking up the fairly common gold-toothed prison-garb figure.

I'm also crossing my fingers that we'll see something similarily themed for '10 - I suggested sets of this type when the City-team asked for suggestions.

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1) The little building is very cool, and looks great with the sliding door.

2) The sheer novelty of a set devoted to shady characters doing suspicious things. Are they thieves? Smuggers? Something bad, no doubt. Since TLC overwhelms us with endless police set after police set, it's really nice to see the bad guys get a set. Those policemen need someone to chase, after all.

Unfortunately, the hovercraft is pretty absurd. A hovercraft?!?!? Really?!?! Why not a sleek black speedboat?

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2) The sheer novelty of a set devoted to shady characters doing suspicious things. Are they thieves? Smuggers? Something bad, no doubt. Since TLC overwhelms us with endless police set after police set, it's really nice to see the bad guys get a set. Those policemen need someone to chase, after all.

I also think people who brag about their eco-friendly cars are bad . I agree though, the set gets as close as it can to a crime theme, but draws itself a bit away with the hovercraft. Almost like they're baddies in an agents set or something.

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I liked the little building much, with the old window and railsdoor(don't know the good word for it).

The figs are also nice. The head of the captain is great and I find it strange I never has seen this face in an other set. (the grumpy policeman from world city is used in many sets and still available).

The hovercraft looks not that bad, but it had something which made the sets of town/city earlier not good: Big pieces, with not much use for something else.